The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Sharon Parish, has emerged as the winner of the second edition of the SB Oshoffa Annual Memorial Juvenile Music Competition. The event, which took place in Lagos, saw CCC Ijaye Olifi and CCC Glorious Children securing second and third positions, respectively.
Grand Prize and Competition Details
The winning choir received a grand prize of $2,500 in the competition organized by True Word in Season, the evangelical arm of the Greater Tomorrow Group within the Celestial Church of Christ. The competition was fiercely contested among nine shortlisted choirs, comprising participants aged between 8 and 17 years. These choirs were selected from an initial pool of 26 choirs that expressed interest in the competition.
Objectives and Camp Experience
Ademola Bolaji, the leader of True Word in Season, stated that the competition was held to celebrate Children's Day and to preserve the musical legacy of the church's founder, Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa. The initiative aims to groom children in sound music and spiritual values. This year's edition introduced a three-day camping exercise for participants, where they received intensive music coaching and mentorship.
Bolaji emphasized the vision to improve musical standards in line with Oshoffa's legacy, describing him as a trained musicologist with deep knowledge of music. He noted that Oshoffa could detect wrong notes immediately when someone played before him.
Performances and Recognition
The choirs performed indigenous songs composed by Evangelist Segun Emmanuel Ogabi, popularly known as Gbatie, as a way of honoring his contributions to the church. Beyond the cash prize, Bolaji revealed that participants would benefit from mentorship opportunities, music development initiatives, and performance assessments aimed at improving their rehearsal culture and musical delivery.
Bolaji expressed optimism that the wider church would eventually adopt and institutionalize the program due to its importance to the identity and legacy of the Celestial Church of Christ. He stated, "As long as God remains God and continues to bless us, this program will continue. This is our own contribution to celebrating the legacy of the man who founded the church."
Feedback and Improvement
Commenting on the performances, Ogabi expressed delight at witnessing his songs being performed in his lifetime as a way of honoring his legacy. However, he noted that there was still room for improvement, urging the choirs to relearn the proper rendition of the songs, especially as most of them are supposed to be sung in moderato style.
